


Not over yet

by Sys



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 15:04:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11420478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sys/pseuds/Sys
Summary: I'd been meaning to write a little 5+1 drabble based loosely on certain revelations from Persistence of Vision. Turns out that the +1 got a bit longer than intended. My apologies to Paris/Torres and Chakotay/7 shippers. :)





	Not over yet

The first time’s quick. Rough. Fuelled with shared frustration over the broken engine that’s got them stuck in the middle of enemy territory. She tells him that it shouldn’t happen again. And he agrees. Friends don’t have sex, and each yelling match and each more physical conflict aside, they’re friends. 

The second time’s for comfort. Starfleet officers wouldn’t sleep with their superiors... but Maquis are rebels and rebels break rules. She doesn’t tell him the reasoning. Just that she’s homesick and that it’s just for the one night. It takes a couple of days till things are back to normal.

The third time he escorts her back to her quarters when she can’t find her way back down after a double shift from hell. He doesn’t even seem surprised when she kisses him. It’s just to help her unwind. Or that’s the story they stick to. No need for questions.

The fourth time’s forbidden. But it feels good, so much better than it should. The guilt in his eyes mirrors her own. When they kiss it’s supposed to be for the last time. A final intimacy except the occasional friendly hug. She can’t shake off her unwarranted despair for weeks.

The fifth time’s in a different lifetime. Or so it feels. They’re home. And that almost excuses it. Looking into his eyes tells her that it’s not over. But falling in love’s out of the question. They agreed it wouldn’t happen. It’ll take endless talks, sorting it out with everyone.

After the fifth time they keep radio silence as they sort their affairs. It’s easy to tell that everyone expected that if her marriage was ever divorced based on infidelity, it’d be Tom’s fault. He’s accepted that first time like a gentleman, didn’t mention it to anyone else. The second time’s a deal breaker, particularly when she confesses that it’s lasted much longer than he knew, fragmented though it’s always been. He’s too understanding about it all... it’d be easier if he just hated her and questioned her right to be a part of their daughter’s life. But he doesn’t.

When Chakotay tells her that Seven just shrugged and suggested that maybe she should, in turn, start a relationship with Tom she can’t stop laughing. It’s not funny at all, but he joins and they laugh so hard it hurts. She’s not sure when the laughter turns to tears. It’s a very fluid transition. That and his arms wrapping around her, catching her before guilt turns to anger. He doesn’t let go when she’d need to lash out. So she bites him and he grabs a handful of her hair to pull her head back when it gets too much. 

The first months are tough because she can’t bring herself to tell Tom not to spoil Miral every time she’s with him. So each time her daughter’s home she needs to reestablish each rule and when Chakotay’s around it’s obvious that he doesn’t want to interfere. He behaves quite like Tom does, letting Miral get away with anything her stubborn mind comes up with. But she knows that Chakotay can do better than that. She’s been on the receiving end of many a dressing down and looking back they’ve done her good. Only that Miral’s not his. She always was.

It’s almost two years after the divorce that they actually make love. Gently. No more shouldn’ts, no more time limits, no more flimsy excuses to disguise their behavior. It feels different, realizing that he’s hers. That in the morning he’ll stick around and have breakfast with her before they leave for work. It’s a scary thought, that knowledge. It doesn’t go well with the lingering feelings of guilt, weakened though they are now that her ex-husband’s found a new lover he seems suitably happy with. Seven’s moved on only weeks after the split. Maybe it’s okay now, making love. Hopefully.

In a way it’s odd, knowing that Tom’s already re-married and Seven’s been living with her new boyfriend for half a decade when they first consider moving in together. But she values her freedom and he values his. They agree on separate bedrooms in case one of them needs to close the door for a while. The day they find a place that suits them is the first time he says that he loves her. She’s known that, of course. For years. But she can’t say that she loves him when they know she does. Instead she kisses him. Softly.

Miral turns eight the day B’Elanna finds out that she’s pregnant again. For the first few weeks she can’t bring herself to tell anyone. Not Chakotay. Not Miral. Not even her personal log. He’s surprised when she tells him. But he promises that they’ll figure it out. They always have.

When their daughter is born they name her Annika, after her Godmother. At first glance it seems an odd choice, asking their exes to become their daughter’s Godparents. But it’s a gesture of friendship towards the two people who’ve been a lot more supportive than they had reason to be. 

Chakotay’s definitely a better father than stepfather in that he actually helps raising Ann beyond indulging her whims and telling her stories. He’s doing so well indeed that she occasionally can relax into the spoiling role herself. Well till he takes her aside and reminds her that they’re a team.

Ann’s five when Chakotay tries to lift her for a celebratory greeting after her first proper day of school. He’s banned from lifting anything for a couple of weeks after that. Several failures to obey doctor’s orders later, she reminds him that he’s hers, too. Dressing downs included. That works.

Getting married’s an afterthought when Ann asks why they aren’t. Neither of them’s ever needed a formal confirmation of their relationship. But Miral backs up her little sister and there’s no harm in it either. He surprises her when he mentions that it’s been twenty-five years since they first met.


End file.
